Bladerunner
Bladerunner is a robot that has competed since the beginning of Lego Robot Wars. For the first 3 series it's appearance remained virtually the same; a small box-wedge shapped robot with four wheels and two rear spikes. For series 4 it known as Bladerunner X '''and was taller, had only two wheels and had a spinning tyre for a weapon. It's name was reverted back to Bladerunner for series 5 onwards, the disc was removed and it once again had four wheel drive. In its most recent appearance in series 6 Bladerunner had 2 large green panels, one acting as a front scoop and one as top armour. Bladerunner came second in the first series, but had limited success afterwards. It lost in round 1 of the next 4 series, and won the 3-way melee special in series 5. In the uncompleted series 6 Bladerunner has advanced to the semi finals. Ochayedonald has noted that Bladerunner became somewhat of a fan-favourite in the early days of the competition, perhaps owing to its speed and underdog victory over Twister. Despite its popularity Bladerunner has performed the worst out of the six robots who have fought in at least 5 series since the beginning, only achieving five wins to date. Bladerunner was likely named after the 1982 film of the same name starring Harrison Ford. Design In Series 1, Bladerunner had a very simple and compact design, with a wedge at the front and two spikes on its back end. It was powered by four Medium motors, one per wheel, which gave it the most pushing power out of any robot in the first Series, although its light weight hindered it somewhat. The design remained essentially the same until Series 4. In Series 4, Bladerunner was completely rebuilt, given only two wheels, and a spinning tire as a weapon. It was renamed '''Bladerunner X. Unfortunately, the robot performed terribly, losing its first match against Whiplash as well as its only battle in the Loser's Competition. Ochayedonald even told his brother to not bother using Bladerunner X's weapon for the latter, calling it "pointless." For Series 5, Bladerunner was rebuilt again, going back to the four-wheeled pushing robot concept, and having a wider and more flattened look than the first three series. Although it was a strong robot, it still had very little success as it suffered from bad driving, erroneously driving directly into the pit all on its own even after dominating a match, much to the annoyance of fans. In Series 6, Bladerunner was rebuilt for a third time, this time with a long green ramp on the front and green top panels. This design worked very well, and for the first time, Bladerunner was really a force to be reckoned with, with the ramp essentially made it immune to damage from frontal attacks. It managed to win the series and claim the title of champion. For Series 7, Bladerunner was modified to have an active weapon: a moving top panel that could lever other robots forward if they got on top of it. It was somewhat weak, however, and it could not function as a self-righting device in the event that Bladerunner was ever flipped over, which it was. Robot History Series 1 Bladerunner faced Thwack in its first ever battle and showed great speed and power, constantly ramming Thwack into the arena walls. Thwack eventually broke down and Bladerunner advanced to the semi finals. Bladerunner was drawn against Twister, and looked to be the underdog in the eyes of many due to the damage that Twister had inflicted upon B2 in the previous battle. Bladerunner started the battle by charging at Twister, stopping the weapon and ramming it into the arena wall. Bladerunner reversed and rammed Twister again which caused part of the spinning bar to come off. Bladerunner then shoved Twister across the arena a few times while sustaining small damage to its front wedge. After this half Twister's drive became disabled on one side and it could only drive around in circles. The same happened to Bladerunner shortly afterwards and the fight went to a judges decision since both robots were counted as immobilised. The decision was in favour of Bladerunner due to it dominating the battle and being mobile for longer than Twster. In the Grand Final, Bladerunner faced Brute, and was at a disadvantage being a pound lighter than its opponent, and only having two motors instead of four; Ochayedonald did not have enough motors for the final as he did not expect Brute or Bladerunnner to reach this stage. Bladerunner constantly rammed Brute, but could not push it due to its large weight. Over the course of the battle, Bladerunner lost two front wheels due to the front stoppers not being placed on them; the first one from hitting a gap in the arena floor, and the second from ramming Brute. Brute kept axing Bladerunner as it was attacked by the smaller machine, and these attacks eventually paid off as Bladerunner suddenly stopped. Brute was declared champion, and Bladerunner the runner up. Series 2 Bladerunner returned seeded 2nd and largely unmodified for the second series, where it fought newcomers Inerta in round 1. The battle started slowly as one of the drivers was confused as to which robot he controllers driving, and then Bladerunner rammed Inerta, wedging under it and the bumper and part of the armour in the process. Bladerunner then shoved Inerta a few of times which nearly toppled it at one point. Bladerunner turned around to ram Inerta with its rear spikes, and then reversed across the arena. Inerta's weapon system had been loosened by the rams, and as the blades spun they shook it out of position and stopped rotating 360 degrees. Bladerunner came in to push Inerta with its rear spikes, but one of its rear wheels rubbed across the body of Inerta and drove up it. A combination of Bladerunner moving and Inerta pushing caused the number 2 seed to fall onto its back. Inerta then pushed Bladerunner into the pit and moved onto round 2 in a shock victory.